Richmond_Surrey

Had eggs announcement on Norwegian once. Cabin crew came to us, ask if we're done with our sandwich, because there's passenger with allergy to eggs. They announced it to everyone a few minutes later.

HIDDY

I take it those who suffer from allergies must inform the airline of their condition before they travel rather than just a case of them telling the crew when they board?

Yeoman5

We always advise the airline when making the booking, on check in and when boarding.

muscat

T8191

A rather insenstive post, IMO.

However, a more general question for the Medics here. WHY have such severe allergies become prevalent over the decades? Neither my wife nor I (in our 70s) can recall this ever being mentioned in the 40/50/60’s, yet now it seems extraordinarly prevalent and SEVERE.

Does the Medical profession have a view? Or is research on-going as to why the younger generations are so afflicted?

milkyway88

There has been lots of research but the answer is nobody really knows, but they there seem to be several causes (or ideas on causes) including:

• Children/Babies are less exposed to food that might cause allergies based on health advice, which then increases the chances of a severe reaction if introduced to allergens later in life
• Less breast feeding, not exposing babies to trace amounts of allergens via breast milk
• The tendency to "protect" children from the elements / nature
• Better diagnosis
• A more varied diet with expose the food types that many people would not have had expose to in years gone by
• Going back many many years people would die for unknown reasons that were in fact allergies that would be treated today

People will dispute many of these and I don't claim to know the answer but these are the common reasons given, that has some backup in research.

kipper

I've been the cause for those announcements on a few flights. I would rather be safe and not be diverted to a different location or die on a flight. I think the worst was when Mr. Kipper and I flew to England on our honeymoon 15+ years ago. I asked an FA about the ingredients in a dessert, and she said she didn't know and seemed to not care about my allergy. Mr. Kipper did a quick calculation about where we were and said, "If you want to eat it, go ahead. We're near enough to land that we can divert." I opted out of eating it.

I've landed in the ER due to accidentally eating almonds, and it's not a pleasant experience. Once I consumed them, I very quickly started feeling like I couldn't breathe, vomited (not a great thing when your throat is closing), and even with two doses of Benadryl, still ended up at the ER because I couldn't breathe. When they discharged me several hours later, I was given three additional medications to take for a week, and told that I needed to carry an Epi-Pen with me. No discussion about that. So, now I carry an Epi-Pen everywhere, including when Mr. Kipper and I go to concerts or sporting events, and yes, especially when I fly.

I'm allergic to peanuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, cashews, walnuts, pecans, etc. As a child, I even had a mild allergy to peas and certain types of beans. Those two were my favorite diagnosis, because I was able to then avoid those when served at dinner. I've since outgrown the peas and beans allergy, but my almond allergy has become worse with time.
I believe in my area, police are also allowed to administer Narcan.
I'm allergic to all tree nuts and peanuts.
The smell of nuts makes me nauseous, occasionally to the point of vomiting, likely because my body's reaction, when I eat nuts, is to vomit. Not a severe reaction, but not pleasant for anyone on a flight.
I notify them when I make the reservation, confirm that it is listed online repeatedly, and then follow up at the airport.
Oddly, I was breastfed, exposed to nuts, eggs, and other allergens at a young age, allowed to wander around outside as a baby (even naked! oh, the horror!). I'm allergic to a lot of things.

Dublin_rfk

Yes it is and after a lifetime of being steamrolled by wantabes and fakers I stand by it. Take a look at real studies on allergies in general and peanuts specifically on aircraft.

Ancient Observer

2 comments

1. A friend of mine has a severe nut allergy. He ate something without nuts listed. The (BA) plane was diverted. It can happen.
2. My daughter has severe cashew and peanut allergy, (and avoids all other nuts due to sourcing problems). However, we always have nuts in our house.. Normally stored away in a draw/cupboard. She has never been impacted by those nuts.

TravelLawyer

@kipper so sorry to hear about your allergy. DS has a cashew allergy and we preboard to wipe down seats because they always serve cashews on AA first class flights. We also inform the FA's upon boarding so they don't try to serve us nuts. Once in a while, they ask if the entire cabin/plane needs to avoid it - we decline this option since it doesn't seem to affect him this way (knock on wood), but we always appreciate the concern. We've been to the ER once, and always carry an epi-pen with us everywhere. He now avoids all nuts (including peanuts and other tree nuts) just in case there is cross-contamination. Unless you experience it or know if people that do, people often don't understand the ramifications of something as simple as eating nuts can be a life or death situation for some.

cauchy

From http://www.leedsth.nhs.uk/assets/Upl...y-original.pdf :

I think it's important to point out that scaremongering can lead to all sorts of mental health issues for those involved.

If a doctor has provided specific advice about their patient and their condition, and it's at odds with what is above, then I can understand the parents following the doctor's orders. It's a really unpleasant situation for all concerned.

kipper

Thanks. My boyfriend at the time of the incident that sent me to the ER didn't understand how severe it was until he took me to the ER. I was in college and we had a few classes together (that's how we met). The incident was on a Sunday night and we got back from the ER around 2 AM or so. We had a 3-hour class together on Mondays. We weren't supposed to miss class, so I managed to make it to class, drugged up on Benadryl, prednisone, and some other medication that I don't remember. I explained what happened to the prof, and she told me that if I left early, it wouldn't impact my grade, because she would definitely consider it an excused absence. I left about halfway through class. Boyfriend had to stay, as we didn't tell anyone in class we were dating, as it was a 6 or 8 person class.

I spent much of that week pretty doped up with the Benadryl, and don't remember much of the week.

chrisboote

Completely agree
I have a potentially fatal allergy to cheese (and related caseenated dairy products)
I have been hospitalized for accidental cross contamination before
I would still not DREAM of asking other passengers to be inconvenienced for my issue
My problem, my responsibility to minimise it, no one else's
If it got so bad I could have an anaphylactic attack due to a fellow passenger eating cheese, I would feel it's my problem and I wouldn't fly

chrisboote

That's just wrong
It can certainly trigger tachycardia, which can be fatal
The girl who died on a flight after eating a sesame seed sandwich from Pret died, according to the coroner recording a narrative verdict, because of tachycardia caused by the epipen, not the allergy

chrisboote

Well, it is extremely common for every single J meal option to contain cheese, so I almost always bring my own food - which almost always includes peanuts, and/or peanut butter sandwiches